Thursday, September 15, 2011

New York Day 3

Sunday in New York, we were bound for Brooklyn. Right before we left, we were issued ominous warnings about how the cabs do not line the streets, and the subway can be unpredictable. Did we have the name of a car service? We might not make it back for hours. These were from loving people with insider local knowledge. And they were given serious consideration. But, in the end, armed with our new 'picture', we headed out.

Our first stop was to the Williamsburg Flea Market. The market itself is almost on the water, so the views of the city in the background are amazing! There were some clever displays, and some great food stalls.What you can't 'see' is that the temperature is about about 87, and hazy and humid. I am melting faster than a gelato on the sidewalk. We headed back towards the subway stop, the way we had come from, and wondered in a charming little kids consignment shop, the Flying Squirrel. The owner was a lovely woman (with great taste in clothing) and when she heard about our adventures, she called a car service, and a car was sitting outside the shop before she hung up the phone. And Grandma bought Amelia a wonderful magic wand, which is her souvenir from NY. Our next stop was a yarn and fabric store I have read about on-line. The Brooklyn General Store. Not that I "need" more fabric and yarn. But I wanted to see this place for myself, and see another neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was fantastic. Small. Well edited. Wooden floors, and shelves and a library ladder to get up high. AND. Sunday was the first day of a BIG sale. Hurrah! Mom got fabric for another dress for Amelia. She will copy one she made this summer, which is her most popular right now. "The Bah Bunnie Dress" That way, there is some chance that Amelia will actually WEAR this new one. (she is very picky about her clothes right now. In some very strange ways.) Once our selections had been finalized, we were ready to head back to the city. We heard the ferry was about a 10 min walk, and FREE on Sunday. So we picked that option. We ended up on two ferries, one to Governor's Island, and then running for another ferry to the city.The views and the breeze off the water was enough to keep me going. As hot as it was, this journey was such a highlight. The ferry ride was probably the most 'local' thing we did. There were all kinds of families out for the day on this ride. Including whole families of Orthodox Jews. They are dressed very conservatively, and that means, for the little boys, undershirts and dress shirts, and the long black side curls under their yarmulkes. It was a scene so unlike what I see in my neighborhood. It is the real fabric of another city to see how families spend time where they live. And the picture was quite wonderful. (Out of respect, I did not snap a bunch of pictures. Even covertly with the i-phone. I did not want it to appear that I was mocking. I was just delighted to see a family structure, and clothes and customs that are so foreign to me.)

Back in the city, we decide to try to take a bus, so we could see more of the sites as we traveled. This ended up being a FABULOUS choice because the bus was huge, new, clean, and gloriously air conditioned! And we ended up going directly past the Ground Zero site. This was 2 days before the 10th anniversary of the attack. The place was SWARMED with people. I did not realize what a tourist destination this was. There were a MILLION tour buses, and 400 million tours, foreign and domestic. The site itself is still mostly a construction site. That said, there is a real presence there. The tension is palpable. The buildings that surround the site are still scarred. It is horrifying to see the marks that the debris and explosions left HIGH up on the buildings. I stood scratching my head thinking "what could have torn the paint off that building way up there...?" knowing the full weight of the answer. The "Federal" building here is on the corner of Church and Vesey. It is one of the corners of the site. I liked the juxtaposition of the the huge "Federal" letters, and the permanence of the stone work so close to a site that seemed 'permanent' and large just 10 years ago.

The bus made a detour for "The Brazil Day Festival". The What? Later, on our way to dinner, we came to learn that "the Brazil Day Festival" looks like a huge frat party with everyone wearing yellow nylon soccer jerseys. It was a horrendous, hot, smelly, loud, commercial affair. (picture by fellow Flickrite)Nutty.

Dinner that night was at a great Indian restaurant. We all caught up a little bit on everyone else's adventures. And then, we went to see Billy Elliot. The Director of the show came out, and let us know that three of the cast members would be performing for the last time tonight; the Father, the Grandmother, and the boxing coach. At the end of the show, there is a good-bye scene that is quite moving. But for the 11 year old Billy, the good-bye was quite real, as he would not be performing with this 'Dad' and 'Grandma' again. Either he is a Tony Award winning actor already or he was extraordinarily close to his stage Dad. His tears were real, and there was not a dry eye in the house. The show was just amazing, and well worth the money. And then, back to our penthouse for the evening debriefExcellent 'Day in the City'.